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Jill McDonald, chief executive of McDonald's UK, said: "Whilst today's job market is hugely competitive, we offer many people their first experience of work and we're focused on doing what we can to help more young people get into quality jobs and careers."

A highly-skilled workforce is an important part of any growing business. That's why I am pleased to see how McDonald's is providing training and apprenticeships in a range of skills.

McDonald's is also to be applauded for helping adult employees get qualifications in maths and English. Poor literacy and numeracy skills can hold people back in the workplace, which is why the Government has doubled the funding for these core subjects.

A record number of people are in work after another fall in unemployment and a further dip in the numbers claiming jobseeker's allowance. Almost 30 million adults were in a job in the quarter to last November, up by more than half a million on the previous year.